Prop hammer

Those who follow Bill and Britney Doran of Punished Props, may know of the fan group called the PropTarts of Punished Props.

Every month a challenge is posted up – a just for fun event to show of everyone’s creativity. This month the challenge is to make a hammer:

1) Hammer can be from any property, or an original design
2) Hammer can be any size
3) Can ONLY be made from foam, with a wooden/pvc core
4) Any tools can be used
5) Hammers can be coated, sealed and painted with anything
6) Budget of $30/£25
7) Have fun

Taking some time out form from painting my Fatman, I decided to have a go at making a small hammer; Plus I’ve never done one before and wanted to join in.

I wanted to do something that wouldn’t take too long and take I could try out some of the foam working techniques I’ve seen. So taking inspiration from a hammer in my workshop and remembering this video where some foam melee weapons were created from Fallout 4, I began work.

The base of my prop would be a small 1cm piece of PVC tube and some scraps of EVA foam I have left over from Gorehowl. Having worked out how much I would need I used my beltsander to remove the texture from the back. This creates a smooth surface that would help the layers stick together better.

Using my real hammer as a template I drew around it and then cut out 3 handles and 3 hammer heads. Next I cut out a section from the middle of a handle and head for the PVC tube to fit into. Since the tube was slightly thicker than the foam I also cut a small grove in the top and bottom sections. The tube was then glued into the grove on the bottom of the hammer.

All of the sides which needed to be joined were given a coat of contact adhesive and left to set for a few minutes. They were then pressed firmly together making sure to get a good join. This is also another reason to remove textured backing from the foam as it would leave large gaps.

My multi tool and sanding drums were then brought out and I began shaping the head and handle using my real hammer as reference. The separate parts made it a lot easier to sculpt them with he tool. Having only done this once before and was happy with the way it turned out. Finally I went over it with a fine grinding bit and then heated with a heat gun to make the foam more rigid. The top and bottom were then attached with

To seal the foam before painting, I gave my hammer a few coats of Mod Podge which I hadn’t tried before with an old brush. This created a ‘happy accident’ of creating a great wood texture which I could drybrush later. My original idea was to sand it down and have a smooth plastic like finish but I liked the fake wood look a lot more and went with it. It’s great when you find something out doing something new.

After the final coat I left it to dry for a few hours and then gave it a coat of primer. The head was painted with chrome paint and then given a few washes of brown and black to make the metal look aged. The handle was given a coat of burnt umber and then a couple of thin washes of black paint. To bring out the detail, I mixed up some burnt umber and yellow to which I gradually added some tiny amounts of white and dry brushed the handle to built up the layers. This created a great wood effect I’m really happy with.

I only took a few hours to make and I really enjoyed using the foam and sculpting it with a multi tool.

If you are interested in becoming part of the Prop Tarts group on Facebook and being inspired by the amazing creativity of people form all around the world, follow this link.